I've been contemplating this for some time now and thought it was time to fish or cut bait! I thought it would take a bit if trial and error so I wasn't too upset by the results of the first attempt.
Bob, the wheels are only slid on the axle and not fixed permanently yet. I plan to cut the flat part of the wheels before I mount them to the axle for good.
Frank, it wasn't as much of a royal pain as I thought it would be. Once I set myself to it, it didn't take all that long and the result was better than I thought to this point.
I have now completed the sides of the cover. If you look carefully at the drawings and photos of the prototypes the edges of the sides are reinforced. I began by cutting out the outside edge from 0.015 styrene.
This was then glued to the sides.
I repeated the process for the inside outer edge of the cover.
The sides were completed by cutting them out.
There you have it. Now it's on to the top of the cover.
Thanks, Glen. Yes, my plan is to make the curved fender from styrene. I made a first attempt tonight but the jury is still out on whether or not it will make the cut.
The next step is the top of the cover. I used 0.020 styrene but, in retrospect, could have used 0.015 and had a little easier time of it. That being said, here is the result:
Then the trial fit. Everything in these photos is set on the boat. The paddle wheel is yet to be finished and now that I know exactly what can be seen I know the level of detail I need to do.
Next to come is the completion of the paddle wheel assembly including the arm from the engine room and the final assembly with the finished cover.
Comment